Peshawar: Six people, including two women, were injured on Saturday in a blast in Kala Bari market located in the Saddar area of Peshawar, according to sources at the Lady Reading Hospital, where the wounded were shifted.
All six injured were in a stable condition Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) of Peshawar Qazi Jamil said. Earlier, Jamil had had said that four people had been injured in the explosion.
At least three stores were damaged by the bomb’s impact. The area was cordoned off by security forces after the explosion.
Jamil said that about eight to ten kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast. The material was planted in a white Corolla, he added.
“It was an IED (improvised explosive device) explosion and the explosive material was fitted inside the vehicle,” he told AFP.
Bomb Disposal Unit chief Shafqat Malik agreed that it was an IED explosion and added: “All of the vehicle had blown up and only (its) engine part remained intact.”
The CCTV footage of the blast shows an identified man parking and exiting the said vehicle before wrapping himself in a shawl. The explosion takes place as he walks out of the frame.
The blast today was the first of 2019 in the provincial capital. The last IED explosion took place in October, that left a civilian and a paramilitary soldier injured.
Over the past few years, KP has seen a sharp decline in the number of violent attacks. According to a study conducted by Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, last year 40 attacks were recorded in KP in which 72 people were killed and 174 injured. Suicide attacks across the country dropped from 23 in 2017 to 18 in 2018.
